The clothes make the senshi
by caudelac
Summary: Sailor Uranus has a bit of a problem with the proscribed sailor senshi attire, and decides to Do Something About It. Very much in progress. Feedback deeply appreciated.
1. Fashion Delimma

Haruka looked vaguely disgusted, which made Michiru sigh in profound patience. 

"Really Haruka, you shouldn't complain about it." Her reasonable voice ebbed through the other sailor senshi's frustration. "I've always thought you looked cute in the fuku." She smiled sunnily, but her partner's gaze was far away. 

"Cute." Said Haruka flatly, staring out of the window. "Cute? Cute is for kids, like dumpling-hair and her friends." She looked back at Michiru, eyes smoldering. "You wouldn't call Tuxedo-Kamen 'cute'." 

"I guess not." Michiru shrugged, inwardly sighing once more. She didn't think that she'd be able to talk Haruka out of her mood, this time. The best thing was to let it ride itself out, like a storm at sea. But she kept her smile turned on her partner anyway. 

"These costumes are ridiculous." Haruka flicked the huge yellow bow in the middle of her chest. "Oh, for you it's all right, you're beautiful in any skirt, even a kid's outfit." 

"Thank you." _I think_ Michiru's smile broadened. _Haruka, please, let this go..._

But Haruka's aura kept darkening, her voice gaining in intensity and thoughtfulness. "You know, I remember in Crystal Tokyo... Prince Endymion wore armor, like a real soldier. I should have something like that." 

"But then, you wouldn't be a _sailor_ senshi, love," Michiru pointed out reasonably. 

"No? Do you really think the clothes matter that much, in doing what it is that we have to do?" Haruka arched an eyebrow. 

"If they don't matter, then why are you complaining?" 

Haruka stared blankly at Michiru for a few moments, then, leaning against the window sill with a wry grin, looked down at her ankle boots. 

"It's a guy thing." 

Michiru facepalmed. 

"So what do you want to do about it?" She'd meant that to be discouraging, but alarm crept into her features as she regarded Haruka's calculating, thoughtful expression. 

"Mamoru's armor... he doesn't usually change into Prince Endymion unless he is with Neo-queen Serenity, right?" 

"What are you planning, Haruka?" Michiru asked suspiciously. 

"Unless, of course, it was the past or the future. Then he's Prince Endymion all the time." 

"Haruka..." Michiru got up out of her chair. "...why don't we go out for some sashimi and then dancing, or to the beach, hmm? I think we've been working too hard." She put her hands on Haruka's shoulders, smiling prettily up at her. "We need a holiday." 

"A holiday..." Haruka looked up, her gaze faraway. "I think we should call Setsuna, and arrange a little visit." 

"Setsuna?" A feeling of dread began to grow in Michiru's stomach. "Haruka, if you care so much about it, why don't you just get Luna's disguise pen from Usagi and do it that way? There's no need to drag Sailor Pluto into this." 

Haruka looked down at her partner, arching an eyebrow. "Come on Michiru, where's your sense of adventure?" 

"The same place you left your common sense, amata." Michiru stepped back, crossing her arms. "You've been hanging around with Sailor Jupiter too much lately." 

"Jealous?" 

"No, worried. If you're so concerned about looking like a child, then you should stop behaving like one. The Gates of Time aren't a toy." 

Haruka looked down expressionlessly, and Michiru held her breath, hoping a little bit of that at least had gotten though. 

"Okay, Okay, you win, Michiru." Haruka heaved a sigh, then looked up at her partner. "I'll drop it. You're right, it's a stupid thing to let bother me. We have much more important things to worry about." 

"Like saving the world, for instance." 

"Right." Haruka flashed one of her rakish, charming smiles at Michiru, and the other girl allowed herself to worry a bit less. The blond senshi glanced down at her wrist communicator. "speaking of which, look how much time I've wasted already with that foolishness. Come on, we've got work to do." 

"Right." Michiru nodded, giving Haruka's hand a fond squeeze, grateful that the crisis was over. 

Or so she thought. 


	2. Retro Chic

That evening, as Michiru slept, Haruka tossed beside her. The full moon shone bright through their bedroom window, further agitating the sailor senshi's restless mood. Silently she slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake her partner, and into a robe. Treading softly, she padded into the living room, and activated her wrist communicator. 

"Setsuna." 

"Yes? What is it, Haruka?" Sailor Pluto's voice echoed only half-sleepily; the Guardian of the Gates of Time was used to being almost constantly alert. 

"An emergency. I need to go to the future, to Crystal Tokyo." 

"Where's Michiru?" 

"Michiru can't know." 

"Haruka… What have you got up your sleeve?" 

The blond sailor scout sighed impatiently. "Dammit Setsuna, I'm serious. Do you think I'd bother you at this hour if it weren't important?" 

Silence for a few moments, and then Sailor Pluto sighed heavily on the other end of the phone. 

"All right. Meet me in one hour, in the park." 

"Thank you, Setsuna." 

"Right." 

*** 

Haruka arrived at the park precisely on time. Sailor Pluto was already there, waiting for her. 

"Are you going to transform?" 

Haruka shrugged her blazer-clad shoulders, hands in her trouser pockets. "Only if I need to, when I'm there. I don't want to cause any confusion." 

Setsuna gave her a very blank look, then turned away, raised her staff above her head, and unceremoniously opened the gate of time for Haruka. 

"It is done." She said, staring into the glow of the magic opening, "You will have thirteen hours before the gate closes again. I hope that you find what you're looking for." 

"Thank you, Sailor Pluto," said Haruka, as much for doing her this favor as for _not_ saying, "I hope you know what you're doing." With a wave, Haruka ran towards the gate and disappeared through it. 

After she had gone, Sailor Pluto swiftly closed the portal. After a moments pause, only Setsuna remained, watching the bright afterimage of the gate with a blankly thoughtful expression. 

"I hope she knows what she's doing." With a wry smile, and a bit of a sigh, she turned to go home and put on a pot of tea. 

*** 

The gate opened not too far from the palace at the center of crystal Tokyo. As she strolled casually through the teeming streets, Haruka breathed deeply of the tranquility that the future promised, if only their appointed tasks could be successfully completed. She was very well aware, after all, that the future, no matter how real it seemed in visits like these, could be quite easily changed. 

That was, after all, what she was here to do. 

At this moment, Haruka's determined reflection was shattered by a very familiar voice, coming from an adjacent alleyway. 

"Tenoh Haruka. Come here. We need to talk." 

Haruka had been half expecting this, but she turned to look anyway. 

Space Sword unsheathed, mirror-image grin on her face, it was, indeed, Sailor Uranus. 


End file.
